The present invention relates in general to impression stamps, and in particular to an improved rubber stamp having easily assembled and disassembled molded plastic parts, and adapted to accommodate interchangeable print blocks.
Exemplary of the art are the stamps of U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,402,663 and 3,361,799. While these disclosed devices apparently achieve their intended purposes, they are constructed of complicated parts which, once assembled into a completed unit, cannot be disassembled to repair or replace parts thereof.
It is not entirely unknown in the art to construct stamps with removable impression parts. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,631,799 discloses removable print stems which can be individually pulled out of the device and replaced with other stems having different stamping indicia thereon. While the stamp of the noted patent does provide a certain degree of versatility, the impression print stems must be wholly removed. Thus, a relatively large inventory of separate stems must be maintained to provide a large variety of stamp impressions. Needless to say, it is time consuming to pick and choose through the inventory of different print stems to select the desired stem and insert it into the stamp.
The present invention overcomes these difficulties encountered in the prior stamps by employing snap lockable parts for easy assembly, disassembly and interchangeability of parts. The invention is constructed so that a print block is removably attached to a plunger which is slideable within a housing, and is covered with a protective cover attachable to the housing to cover the inked print block. Moreover, the protective cover is transparent such that the print indicia on the print block is clearly visible, and further, the print block case abuts with the edge of the protective cover so that the inside surface of the transparent cover cannot become inked because of an inadvertent application of pressure to the print block plunger. More particularly, the rubber stamp of the present invention contemplates a selection of porous print blocks adhered to print block frames which are removably attached to the base of the plunger. Formed with the print block frame are a pair of opposed tabs which, when squeezed together, permit two ribbed arms to become disengaged from respective slots in the print block frame. In another form of the invention the print block is permanently adhered directly to the base of the plunger.
The plunger is slideably movable and spring biased upwardly within a housing sleeve. The plunger also includes at its top end a cap removably attached for pushing against the spring bias and for moving the plunger downwardly in the housing thereby forcing the inked print block onto paper, or the like. A very even and firm ink impression is obtained due to a wide planar shaped configuration for the plunger and its slideable arrangement within the complementarily sized housing sleeve. Thereby, hand pressure atop the cap results in an evenly distributed transfer of downward force upon the print block by virtue of the wide plunger being sidewardly constrained by the sleeve, akin to a piston within a cylinder.
Assembly of the entire unit is easily and quickly accomplished by inserting the plunger into and through the housing and snaplocking the cap thereon. The stamp housing further includes a skirt which surrounds the print block on all sides and extends downwardly further than the print block, except when the plunger is depressed, whereupon the inked print letters extend outwardly slightly more than flush with the edge of the skirt. The transparent protective cover is attachable to the housing skirt. Formed with the print block frame are a pair of opposed tabs which, when squeezed together, permit the ribbed arms to become disengaged from respective slots in the print block frame.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed disclosure, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts .